European umpires to stand in top International matches
Two European umpires have been appointed by the ICC to officiate in top Associate International matches next year. Denmark's Niels Bagh and Germany's Paul Baldwin will travel to Sharjah and Kenya respectively to umpire in Intercontinental Cup matches in January 2008.
Bagh will umpire alongside Darrell Hair in two 4-day ICC Intercontinental matches and a one day match between UAE and Kenya in Sharjah and Baldwin will umpire alongside Russell Tiffin in an Intercontinental Cup match when Kenya take on Namibia in Kenya.
Bagh has recently returned from Namibia where he was officiating at the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 tournament in Windhoek. He has previously umpired in six Intercontinental Cup matches since his debut back in 2005. Last year he was named as one of the umpires on the ICC Europe Elite Umpire Panel and this summer he umpired at the ICC European U19 Division 1 World Cup Qualifier in Belfast, Ireland.
Since his appointment to the ICC Associate and Affiliate International Panel, Baldwin has stood in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka (2006) and in the final the 2006/2007 ICC Intercontinental Cup in May this year when Ireland were the crowned champions over Canada. He has also umpired in five ODIs.
ICC European Umpires Consultant Graham Cooper commented on the appointments saying, "This is excellent news for Niels and Paul, and just rewards for all their hard work. It will provide a great opportunity for them to expand their experience and bodes well for the future of European Umpiring.
He added "We are now starting to see the results of the European Umpire Education Program and these two are shining examples."
The ICC European Umpire Education Program was launched in 2001 and gives its members a structured education programme that allows prospective and experienced umpires the opportunity to develop their skills in an International arena.
15-18 Jan UAE v Kenya (Sharjah) Darrell Hair & Niels Bagh
20 Jan One day match UAE v Kenya Darrell Hair & Niels Bagh
23-26 Jan UAE v Namibia (Sharjah) Darrell Hair & Niels Bagh
30 Jan-2 Feb Kenya v Namibia (Kenya) Paul Baldwin & Russell Tiffin